Look With Your Heart
by Allanna Stone
Summary: With Christine dead, Erik must now care for his young daughter, Victoria, and go through the trials of fatherhood alone… MY ONE HUNDREDTH FANFICTION!
1. Chapter 1

**Look with your Heart**

**I don't own Lover Never Dies or any of the songs that'll pop up during the story.**

**SUMMERY:**

**With Christine dead, Erik must now care for his young daughter, Victoria, and go through the trials of fatherhood alone…**

Erik stared at Victoria as she reached out with a trembling hand to remove his mask. He flinched back, expecting to once more hear her cries of fear. He clenched his eyes shut, readying himself for Victoria's rejection once more.

Victoria.

The daughter that Christine- his sweet Christine- bore him. How much this little girl reminded him of her- her flaming scarlet curls, her fair porcelain skin, her innocence that surrounded her like a halo. She was now all that Erik had left of his sweet Christine, apart from memories.

Erik's eyes snapped open when he felt a warm little hand pressing itself to his deformed cheek. He saw Victoria standing before him, with tears streaking across her lovely face. Erik reached out to brush a tear from her jewel like eyes; to his surprise, his daughter didn't shy back from his touch, but the tears flowed faster.

Erik stood up from kneeling at the end of the pier and gasped as Victoria slipped her hand into his, staying close as they stepped over the blood stain that was all that reminded of the tragic loss they both endured only half an hour ago. Erik began the silent trek to his small apartment that was above Phanstama's bakery. Erik hoped that the scents of fresh strawberries being baked into jelly rolls would cheer up the little girl who was trotting next to him, but she kept her head bowed, not paying any attention to where they were going. Erik found himself marveling at the feeling of someone holding his hand once more; their long slender fingers entangled as his hand dwarfed her own much smaller version of his hands. The little girl gripped Erik's hand as though he would disappear into nothing like in his magic tricks.

Erik took the fire escape to his apartment, feeling that Victoria wasn't ready to face the crowds of people who would more than likely have questions for the new father-daughter duo to answer. Erik unlocked the back door with a key from a key ring that he wore on a long chain at his hips before ushering Victoria inside with a hand on her shoulder.

Erik was proud of his home- it had a small front parlor with a grand piano, a small kitchen with a dining room combined, and two bedrooms. Erik used the master bedroom, for it had the most room to accompany his papers and books; the second bedroom he kept made up just in case he had company (which was never).

"Victoria." Erik spoke her name as she pressed herself into his leg more, hiding her face in his jacket. The masked man could hear her sniffling as she struggled not to break down and cry in front of this stranger who her dying mother told her was her real father. "This will be your room." He pushed open the door, watching as she sat down on the floor and unbuttoned and unlaced her shoes before going over to the window to look out onto the amusement park. She leaned her face up against the glass and just sat there, her body language telling Erik that she didn't want to be bothered.

Erik left the room to see what he could do about dinner. When he came back into the bedroom a few minutes later to tell Victoria that he was going to run a few errands, he found that she had fallen asleep on the window seat and looked uncomfortable.

Erik smiled as he crossed the room to scoop his daughter into his arms. Once she was nestled safely in his arms, he didn't want to set her down, but he knew that he had to. Erik carefully peeled back the covers on the bed and gently tucked in Victoria, smiling softly when she rolled over and grabbed a pillow, cuddling with it close to her chest.

And with that, Erik left the apartment to go grocery shopping.


	2. Chapter 2

**Look with your Heart**

**I don't own Lover Never Dies or any of the songs that'll pop up during the story.**

**SUMMERY:**

**With Christine dead, Erik must now care for his young daughter, Victoria, and go through the trials of fatherhood alone…**

When Erik returned home about an hour later, laden down with grocery bags, he put everything away before going in to check up on Victoria. To his surprise, she was still asleep, in the same position that he had left her in; on her side with a pillow clutched close to her chest. Erik gently stroked her scarlet curls before leaving to prepare dinner for the two of them.

He decided to make soup and garlic bread, a favorite of his, for he was often a picky eater. He didn't know what Victoria would like to eat, so he made some sandwiches and stuck them into the icebox to chill in case she wanted something else.

Within a few minutes, the bubbling smell of chicken noodle soup flooded the small apartment. Erik was certain that the scent would draw Victoria out of her room, but to his disappointment, the child remained in her room until he went to go tell her that dinner was ready.

When Erik entered his daughter's room, he found that she was sitting on the edge of her bed, her stocking feet dangling at least two feet from the floor, her blood stained dress making the little girl look like she went through a murder.

Erik sighed as he set the tray of dinner onto the side table next to the bed and stood her up, his fingers working to remove her dress. Once it was off, she sniffled as Erik noticed that she was wearing a small silver locket with a jeweled mask on the front. He felt tears coming to his eyes as he recognized the locket he gifted Christine with on her eighth birthday. Now Victoria was in her chemise, petticoats and drawers. Erik smiled down at his daughter as she stood there, trying not to cry.

Suddenly, a loud knock sounded at the door as Erik instructed Victoria to eat while he went to go see who was calling on him at this time of night. If it were one of those bloody reporters, then he would not be held accountable for his actions.

When he opened his door, he found none other than Raoul de Changy standing there with a blank look on his face and a few pieces of luggage next to him.

"Victoria's things," he explained to the masked man with an expressionless look on his face. "Tomorrow I'll be off to Paris to settle my debts and to arrange Christine's funeral."

Erik felt his heart sink as he realized that Christine's remains would be taken away from him back to Paris, where she would be buried next to her father.

Raoul had vanished by the time Erik had shaken himself from his thoughts and lugged the two suitcases and one small trunk into his apartment. He placed everything into the front parlor as he went in to check up on Victoria. When he entered her room, he saw that she had not eaten and was sound asleep again with her pillow clutched tightly to her chest once more.

Erik sighed before unpacking her things and putting them away. He came across a lot of Christine's things- a doll that he had made for her when she first arrived at the opera house, a folding fan made of vibrant colored silks and bamboo, a small hand mirror with mother of pearl decorating the handle and back, and most of her jewelry, stored neatly in an ornate jewelry box that played a lovely song when opened. He also found a small stuffed bear with a faded pink bow tied around its neck packed in amongst her neatly packed clothes. Erik smiled as he placed the small objects around the room, tucking the doll and stuffed bear in with Victoria before finding a small blanket that must've belonged to his daughter when she was just a newborn. It was a lovely patchwork quilt with different colors- purple, red, pink, blue, green, orange, yellow- scraps of fabric sewn together to form a stunning masterpiece. Erik noticed stiching in the coner and squinted to make out what the faded embroidery read.

_**Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation  
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination  
Silently the senses abandon their defenses  
Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor  
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender  
Turn your face away from the garish light of day  
Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light  
And listen to the music of the night  
Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams  
Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before  
Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar  
And you'll live as you've never lived before  
Softly, deftly, music shall caress you  
Hear it, feel it secretly posses you  
Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind in this darkness that you know you cannot find  
The darkness of the music of the night  
Let your mind start to journey through a strange new world  
Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before  
Let your soul take you where you long to be  
Only then can you belong to me  
Floating, folding, sweet intoxication  
Touch me, trust me savor each sensation  
Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in to the power of the music that I write  
The power of the music of the night  
You alone can make my song take flight  
Help me make the music of the night**_

Erik choked back a sob as he recognized the song that he sang to Christine when he first brought her down to his domain to show her his never ending world of darkness. He gently tucked the ratty blanket around Victoria and bent down to kiss her forehead.

"Good night, my daughter," he breathed softly, his breath tickling her bangs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Look with your Heart**

**I don't own Lover Never Dies or any of the songs that'll pop up during the story.**

**SUMMERY:**

**With Christine dead, Erik must now care for his young daughter, Victoria, and go through the trials of fatherhood alone…**

When Victoria woke up the following morning, she found that her teddy and doll had been lovingly tucked into bed with her and her baby blanket had covered her throughout the entire night. She sniffled as she was suddenly bombarded with memories of what had happened the evening before.

She had lost her mother and had been told that her father (who really hadn't treated her as a daughter for the past ten years) wasn't really her father; her real father was the mysterious man who hid his hideous face with a mask.

Victoria crawled out of bed and shivered as her bare feet touched the cold wooden floor. She wrapped her arms around herself as she looked around for her robe and found it hanging on the back of a chair that was in front of a dark fireplace. She slipped her arms into the robe, tying the sash before heading over to the window to sit in the seat with her bear and doll in her lap.

A few minutes later- or was it an hour?- the door opened to show her true father, dressed for the day with a small box in his hand. He stared at Victoria, who looked like a fright, with her curls in disarray, her rumbled undergarments (which she slept in) and her eyes blood shot and underlined in dark circles.

"Victoria," Erik said her name before walking to kneel next to her. "I have to go out today and I don't want to leave you at home alone. Can you please get ready for the day?"

For a minute, Victoria didn't move, but then, she slowly stood and moved to the wardrobe, her movements robotic and stiff. She reached to grab a pale blue dress off of a shelf and shook it out before laying it onto the bed to grab fresh undergarments.

Erik stood awkwardly, not sure if she needed help dressing, like with Christine the few times they shared a bed together. In the mornings, she would always whine about how many layers she had to wear. Though with Victoria, she only had to wear a chemise, drawers, and two petticoats before slipping on the dress. She rolled on white stockings before padding over to the dresser, where Erik had placed her hairbrush and collection of hair ribbons. Erik watched as she selected a black velvet hair ribbon and began to brush out her unruly curls before threading the ribbon into her hair and tying it into a bow. She then went to grab a pair of black MaryJanes and strapped them onto her feet before grabbing her doll and standing next to the door with a sad look on her face.

Erik blinked in surprise. Did it actually take her only ten minutes to get ready?

He shook his head as Victoria slipped her hand into his and began to lead her towards the front door, which led down to the bakery, where he had just picked up some pastries for them to enjoy while they were walking around Phantasma, checking in with the venders, shops and restaurants.

As Erik chatted with the people who ran the businesses, Victoria stood off to one side, ignoring everyone who tried to talk to her and pressing herself into Erik's leg whenever she could. Erik couldn't blame the young girl- she was so incredibly shy it was almost laughable. Finally, after Erik had coaxed Victoria into eating half a strawberry jelly roll, he began to notice the similarities between the two of them. For one thing, they were both shy- Erik just did a better job of hiding it then Victoria did. For another thing, she was musically gifted. He knew that from the very moment he heard her composing that song in his workroom two days earlier.

Victoria was still a puzzle though. She didn't laugh or skip or shout like when she first arrived at Coney Island with Christine and Raoul. Erik smiled as he remembered Christine chasing after a very hyper Victoria with Raoul shouting after the two of them. They looked like the perfect family. But Erik knew better- he had kept a close eye on the de Changy family since he arrived in America. At first, it seemed as though their lives were perfect- but then Raoul became addicted to drinking and gambling, and slowly began to lose their vast fortune, due to his lifestyle.

Finally, Erik couldn't take it anymore. He sent out a formal invitation for Christine to sing at the opening of the new Phantasma opera house. To his joy, Christine accepted and he was sent into a frenzy getting ready for the arrival of his sweet Christine.

He had just finished working on a monkey music box, much like the one he played for Christine while he was in Paris, and decided to give it to the young vicomtess. To his joy, she loved it and tried to show it to her father, who all but slapped her in his anger of their welcoming party. Erik had been furious with himself about that- at times, he had such a loose tongue- one of his employees must've let the cat out of the bag that Christine would be singing at the opera house. He told himself that he would worry about that later.

Erik looked down at Victoria, who was trotting alongside of him silently, her doll clutched tightly in her arm as she gripped his arm with all her might.

Suddenly, Erik remembered that Tony, the owner of Antonio's Pizzaeria, had children who were about Victoria's age. He thought that maybe having pizza would be a nice treat for Victoria so he changed direction and began to head towards the small family owned restaurant. Victoria trotted next to him, her head bowed as they neared their destination. When Erik pushed open the door, Victoria was engulfed by the scents of Italian cooking and herbs. She stepped inside shyly and was greeted by a burly man with a goatee and salt and pepper hair.

"Ah, Mr. Y!" he cried, waddling forwards to shake Erik's hand. Victoria stood off to one side as her father and the strange Italian man exchanged words. She looked about at the Tuscan eatery and smiled faintly as some of the herbs reminded her of her mother's cooking.

Erik caught the smile and asked Tony where his children were. As though to answer his question, a loud shriek pierced through the restaurant as a blond girl raced throughout the tables with a boy who must've been her twin brother chasing after her, waving a frog to and fro.

Victoria frowned and as the boy darted past her, she stuck her foot out and tripped him, causing for him to release the frog and allow it time to hop away. Victoria had a scowl on her face as the now furious boy stood up. Erik gulped as he noticed that he outweighed his daughter by twenty five pounds and was taller than she was by about five inches. But Victoria stood her ground, even when he pulled back his fist to punch her.

Erik jumped into action, grabbing the boy by his wrist just as he swung, causing for his punch to stop in mid flight and startling him greatly as his sister came out from underneath a table.

"Thank you, Mr. Y," sighed Tony. "Anthony, Antonia, can't you two ever behave yourselves and not cause a disruption in my restaurant for once?"

The two children bowed their blond heads in shame as Victoria went to go stand next to Erik. She slipped her petite hand into his much larger one, her head bowed as she cradled her doll in her arm. Erik looked down at Victoria and felt compassion for his daughter. He would do whatever it took to make her happy.

Anything.

Erik turned to face the two children who had disrupted his restaurant and saw that they were being scolded by their father. He hid a chuckle at the meek looks that the two children were giving their father as he sent them off to their rooms for time outs. Erik could hear the two of them bickering as they trudged up the stairs to the apartment that was above the pizzeria.

Erik turned to the owner and said, "Now about lunch…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Look with your Heart**

**I don't own Lover Never Dies or any of the songs that'll pop up during the story.**

**SUMMERY:**

**With Christine dead, Erik must now care for his young daughter, Victoria, and go through the trials of fatherhood alone…**

When Erik finally realized that Victoria wouldn't eat, he found himself growing very worried. She hadn't eaten anything in over three days and she was beginning to look sick. He took her to see Dr. Gangle on the fourth day, only she was so weak that he had to carry her the short distance to the man's apartment.

"Ah, Mr. Y! What brings you here?" greeted the tall, slender freak, opening the door to show a somewhat chaotic household. There were shrieking children running underfoot, fighting and laughing. "Settle down, now!" yelled Dr. Gangle, seeing Victoria, looking like a delicate china doll in her father's arms. "This way."

Dr. Gangle rushed the two into an examination room, where he began to look over Victoria. Erik paced the length of the room, clenching and unclenching his fists as he waited for the doctor's verdict.

"The young mistress is suffering from severe chronic depression," announced Dr. Gangle grimly once he had finished looking over Victoria. "I suggest taking her outside everyday for plenty of sunlight and a lot of rest and sleep."

Erik thanked the doctor before scooping up Victoria back into his arms and leaving his employer to his very hectic children as he left the apartment and went back to his apartment to allow Victoria to nap. She had already fallen asleep in his arms and was clutching at his coat as though he would disappear, which wouldn't be likely.

A few hours later, when Victoria woke up from her nap, she heard music playing. Sad, mournful music that made her weep as she curled herself into a tiny ball. She wasn't hungry, nor did she want to play with her doll.

Victoria just wanted her mother.

Suddenly, the music stopped and the young girl heard footsteps outside her door. She whimpered softly as the door creaked open and fottsteps came to her bed. She felt someone sitting on the edge of the bed and a large hand resting itself onto her forehead, feeling for a fever. The hand tilted her face so that way she was looking at the masked face of her true father.

Victoria stared into his liquid gold eyes without any emotions in her once upon a time fiery, lively eyes.

Erik frowned as he noticed how ill his daughter looked, even after her nap.

"Come on, Victoria. You need to eat something," he pleaded her softly, helping her to sit up as he brought a bowl with mac and cheese up to feed her. The scent of melted cheese and evaporated milk made Victoria's stomach rumble and for the first time she noticed how hungry she was. She weakly opened her mouth for Erik to spoon in the cheesy noodles into her mouth and so he did, until the bowl was empty and Victoria was full and sleepy. She snuggled into her pillows, closing her eyes as she clutched her doll and bear close to her chest.

Erik smiled with triumph as he placed the now empty bowl into the sink. He had finally gotten Victoria to eat something. Maybe then she wouldn't appear as pale as he was when he lived underneath the opera house many years ago. He found himself thinking about how different his life was now compared to then.

He sighed heavily as he placed himself on his piano bench and began to play a soft tune, humming as he continued to play the lullaby like song. Within a few minutes, Victoria wandered out of her room, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand as she cradled her doll in her arm. She halted next to Erik's piano, looking up at him with those emerald orbs that were still void of any feelings.

"Come here, Victoria," murmured Erik softly, patting the spot next to the bench. Victoria scrambled up onto the bench and placed her fingers over the ivory and ebony keys and began to play a song that shocked Erik. She began to hum along under her breath as she played the lovely song.

"That's a beautiful song," praised Erik as Victoria slid off the bench and ran into her room. She emerged a few minutes later, clutching a leather folder with sheet music poking out from the ratty folder. She also carried a book which was dog eared and just as ratty as the small packet she placed up onto the music stand. She opened the page and Erik was overwhelmed by page after page of songs and scripts.

"What's this?" he asked her as she handed him the book.

_**Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats**_ by T. S. Eliot.

"A musical based off of this book?" he asked her kindly, beginning to look through the sheet music, impressed deeply by his daughter's talents.

Victoria nodded as she began to play the soft song that Erik held the papers to. He followed along as Victoria skillfully played the song without the music to direct her. When Erik looked at her face, he was shocked to see that she was smiling a stunning smile, her rosebud shaped lips curved upwards as she mouthed the words to the song. Erik looked down to see what the name of the song was.

_**Memory**_.


	5. Chapter 5

**Look with your Heart**

**I don't own Lover Never Dies or any of the songs that'll pop up during the story.**

**SUMMERY:**

**With Christine dead, Erik must now care for his young daughter, Victoria, and go through the trials of fatherhood alone…**

The following three weeks, Victoria spent them working on _**Cats**_ or sitting on the window seat in her room, looking out at the hustle and bustle of Phanstama's boardwalk. Erik soon found out more about Victoria just by watching and observing her actions rather than talking to her.

Victoria had a soft spot for animals and orphans. Whenever she would find a child in the streets, she would give them a few coins out of her own pockets and treat them to a meal- for an animals, she would take it to Miss Fleck, who personally trained all the animals for the shows that Phantasma put on every evening. Her favorite animals were horses (for their grace), cats (for their curiosity) and dogs (for their loyalty). She would spend hours in the stables with the horses and in the animal tents, playing with all the little critters.

One day in November, about three months after he had taken Victoria in, the time came for him to go to the country to pick up more large animals for Phantasms. Of course, with Victoria's undying love for animals, he didn't have to buy any more small animals. He had no idea how his daughter could find abandoned animals and help nurse them back to health. He was already dreading the train ride out to the country, where he would be stared at and gossiped about. All this because he wore a mask to cover his deformity.

Victoria could be found in the stables when Erik went to go hunt her down to tell her of his plans to travel. She just looked at him with blank eyes and nodded her head, telling him that she understood.

Erik then said something that got a reaction out of her.

"Would you care to come along with me?"

Victoria's eyes lit up and she jumped up from the saddle that she was cleaning and hugged her father around his knees. Erik stiffened in surprise but then smiling as he rested a hand atop his daughter's scarlet curled head.

She was indeed a perfect daughter.

Erik smiled as he watched his daughter return to cleaning Miss Fleck's stunt saddle, wiping every crevice with much patience and the skilled hand of someone who used her hands a lot. Erik then thought of something.

"Victoria, do you ride?" he asked her. Her head shot up as she gazed into his liquid golden eyes with her own eyes, which matched his, except that she had illegal eyelashes.

Christine's eyelashes.

She shook her head in a no as she bowed her head over her task.

"Why ever not?" Erik asked her. Victoria just looked at him wordlessly, her hand rubbing circles into the leather saddle with much ease and practice of someone who had been doing it for years (even though Erik knew that Miss Fleck had only showed her how to properly clean a saddle three weeks earlier.)

"Well, how about if we get you a horse and I'll teach you how to ride?" Erik asked Victoria, getting a squeal out of her and she dropped the rag and jumped into his arms, causing for her father to stumble and trip over a bale of hay and fall onto a pile of stacked hay. Erik chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Victoria, hugging her back as she rested her head onto of his chest, breathing deeply as she listened to his heartbeat.

Erik smiled as he recalled the first sound of happiness that Victoria had made when he suggested riding lessons to her. He thought of how much progress this little sound had made. He quickly began to think of what else he could do to help her open up to him.

Suddenly, a loud whinny made Victoria jump up and rush over to a stall, where Erik saw housed the meanest horse he had bought. He had been planning to break in the house, but with the arrival of Victoria, those plans had been put on hold.

Erik watched with fear as Victoria opened the stall and went in to stroke the high spirited house's muzzle. To the man's shock, the horse bowed its head and blew into the young girl's face, causing for her to giggle softly. She then took a deep breath and blew into the horse's nose, starting up a "blowing into each other's faces" war. Finally, the horse lost with a loud snort and butted his head up against the young girl's chest, making her smile as she gently petted the magnificent beast between his ears.

Erik stared at his daughter as he slowly inched forward to lay his hand against the once upon a time wild stallion's flanks. To his surprise, the beast didn't turn to snap his teeth at him like he did before when Erik bought him from the glue factory. Instead, Erik smiled as he marveled in the miracle that Victoria had with animals.

He found himself looking down at his daughter as she slipped a halter onto the horse's neck and led him outside, where she handed the lead rope to her father and motioned for him to get on. Erik raised his unmasked eyebrow as he did as his daughter asked him to. The horse jiggled from side to side, trying to unseat the sudden weight on his back and Victoria positioned herself in front of the horse and with a little hand motion, the horse began to follow her like a little puppy. Within a few moment, the beast was galloping around the corral with Erik gripping onto the hose with his legs. Finally, he brought the creature to a halt and jumped off, booming out laugher at his daughter's hidden talent as she ran up to him.

She stopped just a few feet from with with a look on her face; one that Erik read as being a "Well, how was that?" look.

"You have a rare gift, my daughter," Erik found himself praising Victoria lavishly as he helped her up onto the horse, raising his eyebrow again when she straddled the horse like a man. She smiled down at her father, who kept a hand on her back as she began to walk the horse. The beast went slowly, just at the ten year old girl's pace as she smiled happily.

The first smile that Erik saw grace her angelic face since her mother was killed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Look with your Heart**

**I don't own Lover Never Dies or any of the songs that'll pop up during the story.**

**SUMMERY:**

**With Christine dead, Erik must now care for his young daughter, Victoria, and go through the trials of fatherhood alone…**

The following Saturday after Victoria had shown Erik what her hidden talent with animals was, Erik woke up bright and early, ready to go to the country to buy the larger livestock.

Erik knocked on Victoria's door, imaging that he would have to wake her up. But to his surprise, his daughter opened the door to show that she was already up and dressed in a cream dress with pretty black roses embroidered onto the yolk and shoulders. The hem was decorated in dainty lace and the sleeves covered her arms. Erik recognized the dress as being Victoria's plainest dress. She was struggling to braid her hair with her hairbrush and bowl of hair ribbons on the floor.

Erik hesitated. He did know how to braid rope, but hair? He supposed that he could give it a try.

He sat on Victoria's bed and patted his knee. The little girl bounded up to him and hopped up onto his leg, handing her father her hairbrush. Erik began to absent mindedly brush out Victoria's unruly mane of scarlet curls. When he finished, he sat back to look at his work. It resembled a French braid, only it was more elegant.

Victoria grabbed a black ribbon and tied the end into a bow before hopping off her father's lap and putting the bowl of ribbons and her hairbrush back onto her dresser before grabbing her father and tugging him to the door.

"Victoria, love, calm down," scolded Erik, grabbing his daughter's emerald green cloak and tossing it over her shoulders and fashioning it underneath her chin. "It's freezing out, and I don't want for you to get cold." Erik then disappeared for a few minutes before returning with a mink fur muff and presenting it to her. "This belonged to your mother," he told her, smiling as she accepted the muff with a beam and promptly stuck her hands inside the muff. Erik noticed that she wore her purse on a plain leather belt, like the peasants in the countryside did with their coins. Erik smiled down at Victoria as she raced into her room and came out with a small bag which he knew contained her scores for _**Cats**_ as well as three books for her to read on the long train ride to the country.

By the time that the father daughter team arrived at the train station, Victoria had once more retreated into her shy little girl routine and had pressed herself into Erik's leg all the more tighter so that way they wouldn't get lost. Erik chuckled as he placed a hand on top of his daughters head and he paided for their tickets. He just ignored everyone's stares as he and Victoria got onto the train and settled into their seats in the first class section.

Victoria shed her cloak and muff before placing herself next to her father and taking out a book from her bag to read. Erik craned his neck to read the title of the book and smiled when he recognized the book.

_Les Misérables_ by Victor Hugo.

Erik realized that he had been smiling a lot more often since Victoria came into his life. He sat back and gasped as Victoria snuggled herself into his side, sighing with contempt as she dove into her book.

Erik was jerked out of his thoughts by Victoria humming a song softly. He craned his ears to try and catch what it was that she was humming. She placed a finger into the page that she was reading and reached into her bag to grab the sheet music that she had brought with her. She flipped the thick booklet open and showed a small set of notes to her father, who read them and became all the more impressed with his young daughter's talent.

She was working on two musicals at once!

Erik smiled down at his multi talented daughter as she continued to work on her shows, humming a tune out loud every now and then to see it it flowed together nicely. Erik frowned as she struggled over the song, _I Dreamed a Dream_. He hummed the song a few times before humming his own version out loud, causing for Victoria to pen it down.

Suddenly, a waitress came over to take her yearly customer's order and froze in surprise when she saw the stern man smiling as he wrote music with a little girl who had his eyes. She forced a smile onto her face as she walked over to take their breakfast order.

"Good morning, Mr. Y!" she chirped brightly, her pen positioned over her pad of paper. "Who is this little cutie?" She smiled brightly at Victoria, who shyly returned the smile.

"My daughter, Victoria," Erik introduced shortly, frowning at a note that his daughter had written down and pointing to it. Victoria then hummed a lovely song that made the masked man's heart weep with sadness.

"Oh, I didn't know that you were married," the waitress said casually, passing out the menus, which little Victoria opened up and began to pore over.

"I'm not," answered Mr. Y, looking over at Victoria over his menu. "It was young love."

"Oh," blinked the waitress before being called by another table.

Erik shook his head before noticing that Victoria had set her menu down and was continuing to write music.

"Had you decided on what you want?" Erik asked her, peering at her work. Victoria shook her head before hunching herself over her sheet music once more. "Victoria, you have to eat," he coaxed her. Victoria just shook her head and held her stomach. Erik knew what she meant. "I miss her too," he whispered softly to her. "But I don't want to lose you too."

Victoria looked up at him before taking up her menu again to scan through it as the waitress came back over again. Erik ordered a coffee and Danish roll while Victoria pointed to oatmeal with cinnamon. The waitress smiled kindly at the mute girl before scurrying off into the kitchen to place their orders.

Victoria yawned as she blinked her eyes, trying to stay awake, but rising earlier than normal had taken its toll on her. Within moments, she was asleep, her head leaning against Erik's shoulder as she slumbered. Erik smiled down at his daughter before covering her with his cloak and humming her a soft lullaby.

Within the next four hours, Victoria napped, wrote music for her two musicals and read, minding her own business, unlike the other children on the train, who were all running underfoot and escaping their parents and nannies.

Victoria stayed by Erik's side, clutching his hand with a vicelike grip as they stepped off the train and began to walk down a road. Erik normally hired a driver, but he thought that Victoria could do with stretching her legs.

To the masked man's surprise, Victoria didn't skip or run off to explore her new surroundings. Instead she just trotted next to her father, gazing about the country side with wide open eyes, taking in everything like a sponge.

Finally, Erik turned into a large fairgrounds, where there was everything; food stands with delicious smelling snacks being handed out, small pens with farm animals, ready to be sold for food, and a large auction block, where animals were being sold. Erik laughed out loud at the look of amazement that sparked across his daughter's face as he steered her towards the livestock pens, where he began to look over the horses.

Erik was interrupted by a loud squeal of surprise from Victoria; he turned around, half annoyed, half amused when he saw what had made her cry out.

Victoria had been lifted up onto an elephant's back by it's trunk and was looking scared as the owner loudly scolded it's pet.

"Victoria!" shouted Erik, causing for the owner to look up. To Erik's surprise, it was Daniel, who he almost always brought he animals from. "Daniel, get my daughter down from there now!"

"I'm sorry Mr. Y, but Rosie doesn't seem to want to cooperate with what I'm saying," he apologized before telling the elephant something in Polish. The elephant brought its trunk up to sniff at the masked man.

"Victoria!" shouted Erik, going over to the side of the elephant, where his daughter was looking down at him with a look of fear. "Jump! I'll catch you!" he shouted, holding him arms up. Victoria didn't hesitate, swinging her leg over the elephant's back in an unlady like fashion and jumping off the large creature who had picked her up and place her onto its back. Victoria landed in her father's arms with a loud "_** UMPH**_" of surprise when Erik almost topple over with her in his arms.

The spectators all broke into loud cheers and applause at the heroic actions that Mr. Y went through to save his daughter.

"Rosie!" shouted a feminine voice as a stunning redhead wearing trousers and a loose shirt ran out of a tent to scold the elephant into Polish. The elephant trumpeted loudly before tickling the woman's face with its trunk. The woman laughed loudly, a booming tinkle that reminded Victoria of her mother's laugh.

And then she turned around.


	7. Chapter 7

**Look with your Heart**

**I don't own Lover Never Dies or any of the songs that'll pop up during the story.**

**SUMMERY:**

**With Christine dead, Erik must now care for his young daughter, Victoria, and go through the trials of fatherhood alone…**

The woman who was speaking Polish to Rosie the elephant was interrupted by the loud pitch screams of a little girl, who raced over to her mother, crying loudly as she pointed to two boys who were about to destroy a cloth doll.

Immediately, Victoria raced over to the two bullies, snatched the doll away from them and pushed the two of them down before running back to her father with the doll clutched tightly in her arms. She reached the little girl and gave her the doll back before the two boys caught up with her.

Erik strode forwards with a terrible scowl on his face as Victoria began to blindly fight off the two boys who had ganged up on her. The woman reached them just as Erik did and pulled Victoria out as Erik grabbed the two boys and glowered at them, sending them running with their tails in between their legs.

Erik made sure that they were gone before turning to Victoria, who was presenting the doll to the little girl. She snatched the doll from Victoria and hid behind her mother's legs.

"Thank you," Erik told the woman with a hand lightly resting on Victoria's shoulder as she leaned against him.

"Not a problem," she smiled as Rosie picked up her daughter and cradled her in her trunk gently. The little girl giggled as the motherly elephant rocked her little load back and forth. "Rosie's not for sale- wherever I go, she goes too."

"She looks like an interesting creature," smiled Erik, trying hard not to compare the woman standing in front of him to his sweet Christine.

"She is fully trained, but she only understands Polish," the woman explained. "She's really a great creature- just a bit mischievous."

Erik couldn't help but smile as he watched Rosie cradling the little girl gently in her trunk.

"Oh, she and Elizabeth are like two peas in a pod," she explained with a loud bark of laughter. "Can I show you some other animals that are for sale?"

This perked Victoria up as she nodded her head eagerly.

"Very well then," the woman smiled before leading them into a large tent, where there were all kinds of animals. Victoria smiled as she quickly socialized with the animals, listening as Erik and the woman chatted idly about this and that. She suddenly spied a cage with a cloth covering it. Her curiosity peaked, Victoria removed the cover and shrieked as snakes crawled over one another, hissing threateningly at the girl who had turned and ran into her father's arms and was shaking uncontrollably.

"You don't like snake?" the woman asked dryly before replacing the cover over the cage of snakes. Victoria shook her head several times before pressing her face into her father's leg. "They're not poisonous if that helps," she offered before turning to a small litter of fluffy white Persian kittens. Victoria was drawn to the smallest one, who she knew was the runt of the litter. She carefully scooped up the tiny ball of white fluff and cuddled it under her chin as the little bundle squeaked out little mews of comfort. Victoria continued to fondle the little kitten as her father and the woman chatted.

Finally, after Victoria saw her father and the woman shaking hands, she only assumed that they had sealed a deal about more animals for the acts at Phantasma. But what Victoria didn't know was that the deal was actually about the woman and her daughter coming to Coney Island to work as another attraction.

Victoria gently placed the little kitten in with its mother, who purred a thank you at the ten year old girl before returning to washing the kittens. Victoria smiled sadly as she watched the mother cat caring for her small litter of four kittens. She felt her father coming up behind her and barely even flinched as he placed a hand onto her shoulder.

"Victoria, love, Samantha had some horses to show us," he murmured softly into his ear as he steered his animal crazy daughter from the tent. He followed Samantha, who was walking ahead of them as she headed towards a corral that was filled with horses. Victoria perked up and ran ahead to climb into the corral, laughing as the horses all surrounded her, inspecting this new creature who was in their domain.

Suddenly, the leader of the band of horses came forwards to sniff Voctoria, who just blew into his nostrils gently, resulting in receiving a horse kiss back. Victoria and the leader blew into each other's noses until with a loud snort, the horse galloped off, leaving Victoria in the heavy throng of mares and colts.

Victoria giggled again as the gentle mares all pushed their colts to meet the girl, who just petted them. Samantha and Erik watched from the fence, amazed at the young girl's ease with animals.

"She is very gifted," commented Samantha, watching as the young girl patted a mare's neck.

"So that's what Miss Fleck tells me," answered Erik, feeling pride swelling up in his chest as he watched his daughter getting along with the herd of horses. "As a matter of fact, I'm looking for a horse for her. She's never ridden before; however, I'm going to teach her to ride."

"Side saddle?" asked Samantha, raising an eyebrow.

"Whatever she chooses," smiled Erik, watching as his daughter chased the long legged foals around the corral.

"As a matter of fact, I may have the perfect horse for your daughter," whispered Samantha with a glint in her green eyes. "A stunning Gypsy Vanner, six years old, a mare who used to give children rides at a manor home. But when the hostler dies, the master of the house had to sell the mare, seeing as how he couldn't find anyone to care for her. The children were all heartbroken and still come to visit her after school lets out."

Erik smiled as he pictured the horse in his mind.

"Where is she?" he asked her with a smile.

"In another tent," answered Samantha, biting back a smile as Erik called for Victoria to come and look at a horse for Miss Fleck's act. Victoria bounded over to the fence, where she hopped over it in an unlady like fashion, grinning as she shook hay out from her dress. Erik chuckled at his daughter's tomboyish actions as she slipped her petite hand into his much larger one and followed Samantha as she led the way to the tent where the Gypsy Vanner was being housed.

Victoria gasped at the magnificent horse who was being housed in the tent. She was about sixteen hands tall with a white coat that had red and black splotches covering her. Her hooves where covered by feathers and her mane was black. The mare whinnied loudly when she saw the people entering the tent and tossed her head back proudly as she stamped in place. Samantha approached the horse and placed a blanket over its black before leading it out with a click of her tongue. She smiled over at Victoria, who was watching the horse with wide eyes. Once the horse was in a little meadow, Samantha nodded over to Erik, who picked up Victoria and set her onto the horse's back. Victoria squeaked as the horse lumbered forward at a nice pace. Erik walked next to Victoria with his hand on her back as he examined the horse that was carrying his daughter.

After a few minutes of riding, Victoria relaxed. She could tell that riding was fun and somewhat easy. She made a note to go to the city library when she returned back to Coney Island to borrow some books on horseback riding.

Erik smiled as he noticed his young daughter daydreaming. He looked over at Samnatha and nodded, getting a wide smile out of her as she whistled softly in between her teeth, causing for the horse to turn and trot back to its mistress. Victoria squeaked again and gripped the sides of the horse with her legs at the sudden speed that the little horse had put on. As though noticing that Victoria was nervous, the horse slowed down to a slow amble and snorted as it reached Samantha, whinnying softly as it butted its head against Samantha's hand.

"What do you think, little one?" asked Samantha with a smile as Victoria slid off the horses back with the help of her father. She smiled as she patted the horse's side and nodded to her father eagerly. Erik boomed out a laugh as Victoria spied the little girl who was Samantha's daughter running up to her mother. She crashed into her legs and held her arms up to let Samantha know that she wanted to be held. Samantha chuckled as she obeyed her four year old daughter's wishes. Victoria looked at the little girl with longing and sadness in her eyes as her father and Samantha continued to chat for a while before shaking hands.

"Are you sure that Daniel won't mind?" Erik asked the stunning redhead with a small smile.

"He's been wanting to retire for some time now," shrugged Samantha, grinning as the subject of their topic came over with Rosie's trunk snuffling at his mop of grey hair.

"Samantha, did I hear you gossiping about my put off retirement?" frowned Daniel, swatting away Rosie's trunk with a hand.

"I got hired to work at Phantasma, Daniel!" Samantha told the somewhat gruff man as she placed her daughter down. The little girl immediately clung to her mother's legs for dear life as she suckled at her thumb. Samantha chuckled down at the little girl before turning to talk to her friend for a few minutes while Erik turned to look for Victoria. He found her in the tent, playing with a small puppy, who was just a little fluffball of cuteness.

"A Pekingese," murmured Erik softly, crouching next to Victoria as she played with the little puppy, who was growling softly as it nipped at her wiggling fingers. Victoria looked up at Erik with a small smile gracing her doll like face. Erik took a deep intake of breath as he stared at his daughter's face. She looked so much like his sweet Christine that it was painful to look at.

"I see that you met the runt of Blossom's litter," commented Samantha, entering the tent once more. "I can't care for the young one at the moment; would you care to take over that roll for me, Victoria?"

Erik thought that Victoria would jump up and strangle Samantha with a hug at her simple question. Victoria bobbled her head up and down several times before holding the little fluffball up to her face, causing for the puppy to lick her nose, making her giggle again. Erik knew that he would never grow tired of listening to his daughter's laugh.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Look with your Heart**

**I don't own Lover Never Dies or any of the songs that'll pop up during the story.**

**SUMMARY:**

**With Christine dead, Erik must now care for his young daughter, Victoria, and go through the trials of fatherhood alone…**

On the train ride back to Coney Island, Victoria and Elizabeth played together under the table while Erik and Samantha chatted. But Erik's mind was elsewhere. It had been more than four months since her mother's death, and he had hoped that Victoria would have resumed speaking by now. But she hadn't, and Erik was beginning to worry. He wondered if she had been like this earlier in her life? As the train lurched around a corner, Erik jumped when he felt someone grab his leg from under the table. He reached down and Victoria's little hand immediately grabbed hold of his fingers and squeezed them tightly. The faster the train went and the more it rocked, the tighter her hold became.

Elizabeth had been playing with her doll, babbling incoherently to her little ragged friend. But when the train suddenly lurched around a corner, she scampered up into her mother's lap and whimpered quietly, burying her head into Samantha's chest. Samantha smiled as she combed back her daughter's black curls with her fingers, humming a lullaby to her as she drifted off into dreamland.

Suddenly, Victoria popped up on the seat next to Erik, with her music folder clutched closely to her chest. She found a blank sheet of staff paper and began to make some notations. Erik was pleased to see that she was writing down the tune that Samantha had been singing, making up her own version as she went along. When Erik saw the title she had given it, he wondered what she was dreaming of - _I Dreamed a Dream. _He found himself humming the song quietly as his daughter made her notations.

At Erik's invitation, Samantha leaned over the table to peek at what Victoria was writing, but frowned as she looked at the mess of notes.

"Can you read music?" Erik asked her offhandedly in an attempt to make conversation.

"I'm afraid I can't," confessed Samantha with a little blush. "I've never had the opportunity to learn."

"Would you like to?... learn, that is?" Erik asked her as the train rumbled to its first stop.

"Well, yes I would… if it wouldn't be too much trouble?" grinned Samantha. "It might provide a way for me to connect with Elizabeth."

"She reads music?" asked Erik, amazed.

"She composes music on the spot, no matter where she is," explained Samantha with a bark of laugher as the subject of their talk grabbed onto her mother's braid in her sleep. Erik wondered what Victoria had been like at that age? "She's a very talented young lady! I will make arrangements for both of you to learn more about music. "

He found himself gazing at the woman and suddenly realized that she reminded him of his sweet Christine. He knew that they weren't the same person, of course - he had held Christine and kissed her, as she lay dying from that horrendous gunshot wound that tore his life apart; the one inflicted by the little dancer, Meg Giry. But he had to stop dwelling on such things. He pulled himself out of his reverie to see that Victoria was still busy composing songs in her little worn folder. He leaned over her shoulder and saw that she was working on a song called Castle on a Cloud. He wondered how this song would tie in with the first one she had been working on, but knew that he would have to wait to hear the entire piece before he could actually understand the story that Victoria was telling.

Less than five hours later, they arrived at Coney Island. No sooner had they disembarked than Victoria grabbed Erik's hand and began rubbing her belly. Victoria had no need for words because Erik could hear her stomach's protests loud and clear. She began to whine quietly in the back of her throat. Erik obligingly directed the young ladies to Tony's Pizzeria.

"Ah, Mr. Y!" boomed Tony, waddling out from behind the counter as Victoria led the group over to her usual table, in the back.

"And what will my sweet little angel be having today?" Tony asked , squeezing Victoria's little chin in his beefy hand. "Will it be pizza? Calzone? How about some nice Stromboli? Eh? You never have Stromboli, Little Angel?" Noticing Samantha and Elizabeth He added, "Ah! And you have brought in some more customers for me! Good for business! Now, what can I get you?"

Erik ordered a pizza for them, along with some iced tea for himself and Samantha and orange phosphates for the children. Samantha and Elizabeth were fascinated at the crowds of people passing by the little eatery, remarking on the occasional circus clown, dancer, unicyclist or stilt-walker advertising upcoming performances. They each did a small performance as they passed by when they noticed Mr. Y's presence, with Erik and company applauding or nodding to acknowledge each of them in turn.

It seemed no time before a server set a steaming pan of pizza in front of them, accompanied by some breadsticks and their drinks. Erik handed the server some cash, but before he could pass around the napkins he saw a small hand reaching toward the hot pan. In a flash he grabbed Elizabeth's hand to keep her from burning herself.

"Hot!" Samantha scolded as Elizabeth snatched her hand away and turned to her doll. "Thank you, Mr. Y, and thank you for the lunch. We've never had a pie like this before. What did you say it was called?"

Erik carefully handed Samantha and Victoria large slices of the pizza pie, and then gave a smaller piece to Elizabeth. "Tony calls this 'Pizza-pie'. It's his specialty. His brother has a Pizzeria in New York and, as far as anyone knows, these are the only two in America."

"It's very good, if a little messy," she replied, extending her arm in an attempt to break the stretchy strand of cheese. "So Victoria, your father tells me that you are writing some music." It was clear that she was trying to get the silent girl to talk; however Victoria simply nodded as she nibbled at a garlic infused breadstick. Soon a server came to the table with what looked like a chair without legs. He directed Samantha to lift up her daughter before placing the item on top of her chair. When Samantha returned her to her seat, she was now sitting as tall as everyone else at the table, much to her delight. Looking around from her new perspective, Elizabeth now noticed the pretty trinket Victoria wore at her neck. She reached out her hand to touch it, but Victoria jerked back protectively, as though the little girl was going to grab it from her.

"It contains her mother's picture." Erik quietly explained.

"Elizabeth," Samantha told her, "You can play with my jewelry, but not what other people wear, unless you ask first and they tell you it's OK." Elizabeth pouted, disappointed that the silent, if not rude girl wouldn't let her play with her jewelry.

During the meal, the two girls, who were sitting next to each other, began nudging each other to gain more room for themselves at the table. At one point Elizabeth's chair nearly tipped over. Erik gave Victoria a disapproving scowl and asked Samantha, who had been sitting next to him, if she would mind trading seats with his daughter. Soon the table was jerking as the two girls began kicking at each other under the table. Samantha gave Erik an apologetic shrug and he got up and switched places with Victoria so that she and Elizabeth were no longer seated across from each other. Samantha put her hand across her face as she stifled a giggle at the sight of this proper gentleman having to deal with a children's squabble, earning her a look of consternation from Erik. When the pizza was finally gone, Erik, now holding a sleeping Victoria on his lap, had wanted to show Samantha where she would be staying, but Samantha said, "Mr. Y, why don't you take Victoria home first?" So he scooped up his young daughter and carried her to his apartment above the Phantasma bakery, while Samantha and Elizabeth waited for him below.

Erik tenderly removed Victoria's shoes and dress before laying her in her bed and drawing the covers up to her chin. Victoria stirred as she found her bear and hugged it close to her chest. Erik felt a fatherly pride welling up within him as he bent down to kiss Victoria goodnight. He left a note for her under her little night-lamp in case she might wake before he returned, and left to show Samantha and Elizabeth where they would be staying.

About an hour later, after Erik had shown Samantha and Elizabeth around some of Phantasma, he finally reached their new home. He wordlessly handed Samantha a key that would unlock both the front and back doors so that they could experience the salty ocean breezes that came with living in Phantasma.

Erik chuckled as little Elizabeth flew around the small, furnished apartment, shrieking loudly as she explored her new (more permanent) home. Samantha called to Elizabeth that it would soon be her bedtime, then sighed as she sank into a chair, her legs suddenly tired.

"And by the way, I had your luggage brought here. It's in your bedroom. I hope you don't mind."

"I cannot thank you enough, Mr. Y," she said as she shut her eyes in utter exhaustion.

"Erik," he murmured

"What?" Samantha asked blankly.

"Call me Erik, please, Samantha," he repeated with a doleful smile at her. "Goodnight now. Get some rest. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Samantha returned the smile, "Goodnight… Erik," she said, before standing to find out where Elizabeth had gone off to. Erik left the single mother and her little girl, certain that Samantha could handle the rest of the night just fine on her own.


	9. Chapter 9

**Look with your Heart**

**I don't own Lover Never Dies or any of the songs that'll pop up during the story.**

**SUMMERY:**

**With Christine dead, Erik must now care for his young daughter, Victoria, and go through the trials of fatherhood alone…**

A loud scream woke Erik from his dreams. He leapt out of bed and raced into Victoria's room, where he found her thrashing around in bed in the throes of a nightmare.

"Victoria!" he called, gently shaking her awake. Victoria's green eyes snapped open as she jumped into Erik's arms, trembling and shaking with fright.

"He hurt Mama."

For a moment, Erik couldn't believe his ears.

Was Victoria… _Talking?_

"He got drunk and pulled Mama up to their room and locked the door," she continued in a whisper. "And Mama would scream and scream and …."

Erik felt bile rising up in his throat as he realized what Victoria was telling him. What that fop did to his sweet Christine was rape, through and through. He hugged Victoria close to him as he rocked her, trying to soothe her, murmuring soft words to her.

"And then cook's daughter told me how babies were made," she continued in a sniffly voice. "That's what he did to Mama."

Erik stiffened as he realized that his daughter's childhood had been snapped short by a very foolish girl. He growled deep in his throat as he felt Victoria's hands curling in his sleep shirt before her little head fell onto his chest in slumber. He then realized that she had been halfway asleep when she told him how that fop had treated her mother. Fearing that she might panic when she woke up, he carried her into his room and tucked her into his bed with him before cracking open a book to read by candlelight.

Erik stirred, awakened by something that felt different, unusual. A dull morning light was streaming through the window, his book had fallen onto the bed and the candle was extinguished. He stretched his arm out, expecting to find Victoria, but the bed was empty….Victoria! He was relieved to find that she was awake and exploring his room. She had discovered his small collection of face masks and was trying them on. When she saw that Erik was awake, she replaced the mask that she was wearing before racing to bury herself back underneath the warm covers with him. He wrapped a comforting arm around her with a little chuckle at her antics before glancing out the window. He groaned when he saw that it was raining, fat droplets that leaked from the clouds like tears.

"Perfect," muttered Erik sarcastically before swinging himself out of bed and scooping up Victoria, and taking her to her room. She began to shiver at the sudden cold of the room and scrunched herself down under the covers. Erik knelt at the fireplace in the corner and within minutes, the fireplace was roaring merrily, chasing off the cold October air.

"Come on, Victoria," coaxed Erik, going over to her wardrobe once he saw that she wasn't budging from her bed. "Time to get dressed. We have a big day ahead of us." Erik was met by the sound of chattering teeth as he rummaged around in Victoria's wardrobe, looking for warm clothes. He finally settled on a wool dress, some fleece stockings and sturdy boots. "I have to get the park ready for Halloween."

Victoria's head poked out from the foot of the bed as she looked at Erik with a questioning look. Erik continued to talk as he set his daughter's outfit onto the bed next to where she was hunkered down underneath the blankets.

"Halloween is a fun holiday. All the children get dressed up in costumes and go from door to door and demand treats. If they don't get a treat, then they play a trick on the inhabitants of the house. You can join them as they make their rounds if you like?" Victoria leapt from her bed and began to quickly dress herself. Erik left his daughter to her privacy as he went to the kitchen to cook up breakfast.

Erik smiled warmly when Victoria entered the small kitchen a few minutes later, cozy in her winter jacket and earmuffs. She looked so much like a little snow girl that Erik wanted to chuckle, but he said, "Aherm… You'll be more comfortable if you take off your coat and earmuffs until we're ready to leave… ? The kitchen is actually quite warm."  
She nodded and shrugged out of the jacket and laid it and the earmuffs on an empty chair. He handed her a plate with eggs and bacon and gave her a mug of hot cocoa before sitting down to a similar breakfast for himself with a cup of coffee. He picked up the book he had failed to finish the night before and continued his reading.

Soon, they were interrupted by a loud knock at the door. To his surprise, it was Miss Fleck, who looked miserable despite wearing a warm jacket. She was puffing as she tried not to shiver.

"Mr. Y, sir, there is a problem up at the house of mirrors," she puffed, bent over as she tried to catch her breath. "Some vandals broke the entrance sign and Dr. Gangle is trying to take it down so it can be fixed, but with the heavy winds, he's having trouble, and no offence, but we need a man of your size to help take it down - it's a two person job, you see…"

"Say no more." Erik vanished for a few moments before reappearing wearing a heavy cloak and a hat similar to those worn by fishermen in foul weather. He fastened a smaller version of the hat onto Victoria as she tugged on her mittens. "Stay close behind me," he told her as she trotted out the door. "Victoria, you hear me?" Victoria nodded before moving closer to her father as he began to pick up the pace, squinting through the heavy rain that was falling. Within moments, they reached the maze of mirrors, and sure enough, the entrance had been completely destroyed.

Erik swore in a different language before hurrying to help Dr. Gangle take down the large sign that advertised the attraction. Victoria stood off to one side as she watched all the activity.

Suddenly, Victoria heard a pathetic little sound and she turned to see what looked like smoke spilling out of the haunted house…


	10. Chapter 10

**Look with your Heart**

**I don't own Lover Never Dies or any of the songs that'll pop up during the story.**

**SUMMERY:**

**With Christine dead, Erik must now care for his young daughter, Victoria, and go through the trials of fatherhood alone…**

Victoria's keen ears followed the pitiful meows as she stumbled forwards towards the entrance to the haunted house. She pushed open the front door and was engulfed by a wall of thick black smoke. She fell down onto her rear as she began to cough, long chokes for air ripping from her lungs.

Erik rushed over to scoop up his young daughter into his arms as his workers turned their attention to the burning attraction. Victoria wriggled her way out of his arms and darted back towards the entrance, where she scooped up a mother cat and three of her babies before running back to her father, cradling the cats in her arms. Erik sighed heavily as he saw the creatures his daughter was carrying.

It figured- his animal crazy daughter would have found a critter to take home and nurse back to health.

~oOo~

Victoria sighed heavily as she fed the mother cat. One of the kittens didn't make it throughout the night, leaving her with two kittens. She had spent the entire night up with them, keeping them warm and feeding them warmed milk every few hours.

Erik was amazed at how caring and compassionate his daughter was towards animals. Around other people, she was shy and hid behind him. But when she was with animals, she was happy, more like the bubbly little girl who he had first shown all his wonderful creations to…

… before he removed his mask and was shoved away in terror.

Erik sighed as he watched his daughter from his place at the piano. He could tell that she cared only for animals at this depressing point in her life. She had lost both her mother and her life as the little vicomtess.

He didn't really blame her much for not speaking, but he feared that he would never hear her delicate little giggle or her endless questions ever again.

Until he was jerked from his thoughts by Victoria humming a song.

He lifted his head from the music he was composing and heard her softly singing a song to the cats as the mother nursed her two survivors. He craned his ears and smiled as he recognized the tune she was singing. It was a song from her musical, _Cats_.

"_Midnight, not a sound from the pavement  
Has the moon lost her memory? She is smiling alone  
In the lamp light the withered leaves collect at my feet  
And the wind begins to moan  
Memory, all alone in the moonlight  
I can smile at the old days, I was beautiful then  
I remember the time I knew what happiness was  
Let the memory live again  
Every street lamp seems to beat a fatalistic warning  
Someone mutters and a street lamp gutters and soon it will be morning  
Daylight, I must wait for the sunrise  
I must think of a new life and I mustn't give in  
When the dawn comes tonight will be a memory too  
And a new day will begin  
Burnt out ends of smoky days, the stale cold smell of morning  
The street lamp dies, another night is over, another day is dawning  
Touch me. its so easy to leave me all alone with the memory  
Of my days in the sun  
If you touch me you'll understand what happiness is  
Look, a new day has begun"_

This song gave Erik hope that he would be able to coax Victoria from her shell and out into the wondrous world of Phantasma.

_**Alright now y'all my lovely readers. I want some ideas on what I should do with this here story, now.**_

_**I wont scoff at any idea, no matter how trival or stupid you may think it is.**_

_**REVIEW!**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Look with your Heart**

**I don't own Lover Never Dies or any of the songs that'll pop up during the story.**

**SUMMARY:**

**With Christine dead, Erik must now care for his young daughter, Victoria, and go through the trials of fatherhood alone…**

Later that afternoon, Samantha and Elizabeth came over for a "play date". Victoria just for the most part ignored the happily babbling three year old as she cared for the cat and her two surviving kittens.

"So Samantha, are you alright with helping Miss Fleck train animals? We just got a pair of elephants for a new act," explained Erik, shuffling through a tall pile of papers.

"I've never worked with elephants, so this will be a first for me!" chuckled Samantha, frowning when Victoria glared at Elizabeth, who was trying to get the ten year old motherless child to play with her.

"And you'll also need to help Samantha with any strays that she'll bring in," Erik told her, shifting as Elizabeth toddled over and climbed into Erik's lap. Victoria came over and shoved the little girl out of her father's lap, giving her a fierce look. Elizabeth in turn, wacked Victoria with her doll.

Both single parents grabbed their children before they could do anymore damage. Erik sent Victoria off to her room while Samantha took away Elizabeth's doll.

"Well, that was entertaining," dryly commented Samantha as Elizabeth sulked in a corner.

"Victoria is normally very mild mannered," apologized Erik, sighing at the thought of his daughter.

Suddenly, something occurred to him.

"You don't think that they're jealous?" he asked Samantha suddenly.

"What do you mean?" she asked him, not understanding.

"Victoria doesn't have a mother and Elizabeth doesn't have a father," explained Erik. "What if they don't want to share us?"

Samantha thought for a moment before answering him. "Well that makes sense."

Suddenly, a loud scream erupted from Victoria's room, causing Erik to jump up and race up the stairs to his daughter's room, where he found her in a corner, cowering as soft whimpers escaped her mouth.

"What is it?" Erik asked her before a loud gasp from Samantha made him turn.

There, on Victoria's pillow was a dead spider the size of his hand.

Erik felt squeamish as he darted downstairs and came back up with a towel, which he used to pick up the spider and toss it into the trash bin in the kitchen downstairs.

"How on earth did that get in here?" wondered Erik. Victoria was the only person who went upstairs all day, and Erik knew that his daughter would never do such a thing to get attention on herself.

He decided to ignore the mystery for now and concentrate on calming his hyper- scared daughter, who was curled up in Samantha's lap, while looking off into the distance. Little Elizabeth had attached herself to Erik's legs when he went downstairs, causing for the man to scoop her up into his arms and carry her up to his daughter's room.

"Okay now you two, we need to talk," began Erik, unsure of how to go about this talk.

"We both don't want to compete for your attention, so we're not. However, we don't want any more fighting. Do you understand?" interrupted Samantha, looking her daughter and Victoria in the eye with a stern look. Both girls bobbled their heads up and down before latching themselves to their proper parents without a word.

"Well that was easy," muttered Erik, hoisting Victoria up further into his arms. His little girl rested her head onto his shoulder and closed her eyes.

_**Where shall this story go? What will happen next? PM me or leave a review with that you think should happen in the next few chappies!**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Look with your Heart**

**I don't own Lover Never Dies or any of the songs that'll pop up during the story.**

**SUMMARY:**

**With Christine dead, Erik must now care for his young daughter, Victoria, and go through the trials of fatherhood alone…**

_**December**_

Things after that talk soon went back to being normal.

Erik would wake up at six to take a walk around Phantasma before returning to his flat to make breakfast for his daughter and himself. Victoria would wake up while he was cooking and set the table. When they finished their meal, Victoria would stack the eating utensils in the sink before grabbing her muff, coat and mittens so that the father daughter duo could patrol Phantasma. They would walk in silence, neither one of them talking until either lunchtime came around or Victoria dragged Erik to see the new animals she had rescued from the slums of New York. Then, they would go out for lunch, usually at Antonio's, or at one of the other small restaurants that populated the amusement park. Victoria always picked at her food, eating only her greens and some meat, but never the deserts that came with her meals. (Erik thought that his daughter just didn't have a sweet tooth). After lunch, Erik would go to his office to do paperwork, leaving Victoria to do as she pleased. She always went back to the flat to compose and work on _Cats_, which was quickly becoming an amazing show, by Erik's standards. Other times, Victoria would dance to a tune inside her head, trying to dance like her mother had shown her countless times when Raoul was out drinking or gambling. Erik would come home around three or four and he would play on the piano with Victoria, helping her with her music and lyrics. At seven, they would eat dinner and after words, Victoria would wash her face and dress for bed.

This was a routine that went on for about three weeks without fail.

One night, Victoria was woken from her dreams by a loud shout. Fearing for her papa, she jumped out of bed and raced into his room, where he was trashing and crying out. She crawled up onto the bed with him and shook him awake, practically pushing him out of the bed with her vicious shaking.

Erik woke up with a wheezy gasp. Victoria made a questioning noise as she crawled into his lap and nestled her head against his chest.

"I'm alright, Victoria," he murmured softly, running his fingers through his daughter's unruly curls. "Just bad memories."

Victoria looked up at him before running out of the room and returning with her doll and stuffed bear and jumped back into bed with her father, pulling the covers up so that way she was completely covered from the frigid winter chill.

And that is how father and daughter fell asleep.

~xoXox~

Three days later, Erik had frazzled.

Christmas would be upon them and he didn't know what to get Victoria!

Did she want dolls?

Did she want hair ribbons?

Did she want a violin?

Erik decided to ask her instead of worrying too much over it.

"Victoria?" he asked her one morning on their walk around Phantasma. "What do you want for Christmas?"

Victoria looked up at him with her giant eyes that he could never say no to. She reached into her muff and came up with a letter, written in impeccably neat penmanship.

Erik opened the parchment right there in the streets and read over the short list of things his daughter wanted.

_A good education._

_ More staff paper._

_ A new quill._

_ More ink._

_ A friend who is loyal and funny._

_ Happiness for Papa._

_ To kiss mother one last time._

Erik smiled as he folded up the letter and placed it inside his vest. He would be certain to grant as many of his daughter's wishes as he could.

~xoXox~

On Christmas Eve, Erik was grumpy.

The reason?

He was to attend a dratted party with the stuffy upper class of New York.

Erik _**HATED**_ these parties with a fierce passion. But then Victoria skipped past the door with her doll in her arms and Erik got a brilliant idea…

About an hour later, Victoria was dressed in a cute white dress with stocking and leather MaryJanes. There was a white bow perches on the back of her head and her curls were (for once) in an orderly fashion. Her mother's locket was in its place around her neck and she was trailing behind Erik as he readied himself for that dratted party. Once he had finished, he skillfully wrapped Victoria in her fox fur capelet, placed her earmuffs on her head and handed her the hand muff that she always used whenever she went out.

Half an hour later, when they arrived at the party, Victoria was feeling shy. She had always hated Raoul's parties- they were filled with drunken men who would make lewd suggestions to her. So when Erik swept into the ballroom where the party was taking plac, she hid herself behind her father's legs.

Suddenly, at least a dozen ladies swooped in on Erik, flirting with him and trying to get him to dance with them. Victoria peeked out from behind her father and the ladies took notice.

"Who is this little cutie?" cooed one woman, trying to pat Victoria on her head, but the girl quickly ducked behind her father.  
"Ladies, may I introduce my daughter, Victoria?" Erik asked, smirking inwardly as the ladies made up some excuse to get away from the unmarried man.  
Later that night, after Erik had danced with Victoria and chatted with some of the businessmen who had invested money in Phantasma (which Victoria charming them into mushballs), Erik carried his sleeping daughter home, excited for the following day to come.

~xoXox~

The following morning, Erik was first to wake up and he peeked over at Victoria, who was still sound asleep, with her doll and stuffed bear in her arms. Ever since his sweet Christine was killed, Victoria had been sleeping with him for nightmare control.

Erik crept out into the living room and began to make a fire in the fireplace. Within minutes, there was a hearty fire blazing and Erik went into the kitchen to make breakfast.

About five minutes later, Victoria wander out of Erik's bedroom, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She plopped herself down into her usual seat and buried her head into her arms.

"Merry Christmas, Victoria," greeted Erik, placing a plate of pancakes and eggs in front of his daughter, who smiled up at him before digging into her meal. As soon as Victoria finished her meal, she retreated back onto her room. Erik followed her, wanting to make sure that she wouldn't go back to bed. But she only crawled onto of her bed and leaned over the side, bringing out neatly wrapped parcels and taking them out to the family room, where the tree was set up. The ten year old child ignored the giant heap of presents under the tree as she neatly stacked her presents beneath before snatching a present from her stash and carrying it to Erik.

"For me?" he asked, amused. He unwrapped the paper that hid his present from him and opened the box. He smiled at his daughter's thoughtful gift.


	13. Chapter 13

**Look with your Heart**

**I don't own Lover Never Dies or any of the songs that'll pop up during the story.**

**SUMMARY:**

**With Christine dead, Erik must now care for his young daughter, Victoria, and go through the trials of fatherhood alone…**

Victoria was awoken one night by her father's whimpers and cries. She jumped out of bed and tiptoed into her bedroom and froze at what she saw. Her father had the blankets tanhled around his leg and he was thrashing in his sleep.

"Papa?" she whispered, running to crawl onto his bed and shake him awake, only to be pushed to the floor by Erik, who woke up with a start. She cried out as her elbow met the floor with pain flaring up her arm.

"Victoria!" Erik scrambled out of bed to hold his crying daughter. "I'm so sorry- forgive me, please- I had a nightmare…"

The little ten year old girl silenced him by snuggling her head into his chest and a few minutes later, the masked man heard his daughter's quiet snore, informing him that she was sound asleep. He laid her next to him, smiling when she curled up into a tight ball and burrowed herself close to him for warmth.

About three hours later, Erik woke up to a beautiful melody being played on a violin. He smiled to himself as he quickly dressed and headed out into the kitchen with the intention of rustling up breakfast. He smiled when he saw Victoria, dressed with her dark red curls flying all over the place as she played a song on the violin that Erik had gotten her for Christmas.

He sat down at the piano and began to play along, improving the little bumps that his daughter was working on. Suddenly, she stopped playing and darted over to where her sheet music was scattered on the coffee table, scribbling down the adjustments her father made.

While Victoria was busy, Erik went into the kitchen and made a quick breakfast of pasteries and fruit before calling in the girl for breakfast. After she gobbled down the meal, Victoria went over to the window and squealed loudly. Erik looked and groaned.

There was at least four feet of snow outside.

While Victoria scrambled into her outerwear, Erik was dreading the shoveling that came with being the owner of Phantasma; but he put on a good face for his young daughter, who ran out into the snow the second he held the door open for her.

"Mr. Y!" greed Dr. Gangle. "What are you doing? We thought that you would be with the little mistress!"

Erik sighed before turning to his employee. "Vctoria can play in the snow, but I need to help with the shoveling."

"Oh no- you go and play with your daughter, sir- we're just about done!" chirped Miss Fleck, giving the masked man a gentle push by the knees.

Erik eventually gave in, and turned to see that Victoria was making snow angels. He joined her, the two of them creating a heaven full of snow angels. They also made a village of snow people, had a monster of a snowball fight, and played hide and seek, with Victoria being declared the winner, seeing as how she had a way of climbing up into the high, unseen branches of trees.

Around lunchtime, Erik noticed that Victoria's face was a deep cherry red and that she was shivering despite her heavy layers of clothing.

"Come here!" he grunted as he lifted her into his arms and began to head back towards his apartment with the intension of making hot chocolate and sugar cookies.

But as usual, things never worked out the way Erik planned.

The second Victoria was in warm, dry clothes, she began to sneeze rapidly, making her father send her off to bed. He entered the room a few minutes later to discover that she had made a fire in the fireplace and had several blankets heaped up on top of herself in a makeshift igloo.

Erik peeled away the top layer of blankets and felt his daughter's forehead.

She was burning up.

He sighed as he went into the kitchen to hunt down medicine.

V

ictoria was sick.


End file.
